Our mission is to discover effective drugs for retinal disease. Currently, the focus of our work is age-related macular degeneration (AMD, wet and dry).

AMD is the most common cause of blindness in the industrialized world. There are 5.2 million cases in the United States. It is estimated that this number will increase to 17 million by the year 2020.

The pathogenic mechanisms underlying AMD are incompletely defined. Risk factors include age, gender, genetic factors, cigarette smoking, and possibly hypercholesterolemia and excessive exposure to light. 

Therapy for AMD is inadequate. Photodynamic therapy is currently a mainstay for treatment of choroidal neovascularization in wet AMD. Antibody technology has been validated in retina in early phase III trials (Lucentis); it is an effective therapy but does not reverse neovascularization and is invasive, requiring direct intravitreal injection. The only known therapy for dry AMD is vitamins, which slow progression of the disease. 

AMD represents both an enormous need and a great opportunity. We are passionate about these disorders and intend to lead the world in AMD drug discovery for therapy and cure.    

The Human Genetics & Ophthalmology team is headed by Mark Keating and located in Cambridge, USA.

Visudyne® (verteporfin)
Visudyne is an ophthalmology product (Neuroscience used to have an ophthalmology division). It is an innovative treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) based on photodynamic therapy.

Lucentis (ranibizumab)
Lucentis could become the new gold standard for the treatment of wet AMD. It has been submitted for approval in the US in December 2005 and will be submitted to EU authorities in 2006.